SYNOPSICS
Anjos do Sol (2006) is a Portuguese movie. Rudi Lagemann has directed this movie. Antonio Calloni,Otávio Augusto,Darlene Glória,Vera Holtz are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2006. Anjos do Sol (2006) is considered one of the best Drama movie in India and around the world.
In 2002, 12-year-old Maria, living in dire poverty with her family, is sold by her fisherman father to prostitute recruiter Seu Tadeu, who takes her to a low-class brothel in the Amazon region. While she suffers innumerable abuses, Maria only thinks of escaping the horrible conditions she's faced with.
Anjos do Sol (2006) Trailers
Anjos do Sol (2006) Reviews
I give 10 stars too
It's supposed to bring not a milligram of pleasure, be it directing or, especially, acting. Who cares? That's not a piece of art. That's a desperate yell that fades into a hopeless howling. This movie alone is enough not to want to wake up next morning. Watching can easily lead to a heart attack. I nearly had one. But filmed impeccably by a guy with a very big heart. Great photography, great sertaneja score intended to contrast, great cast including Otavio Augusto, Chico Diaz, Vera Holtz and Antonio Calloni among others. Virtually a documentary with a very slight acting, which may be just a bit too much. But the most shocking is that the movie leaves you breathlessly ashamed for being part of this world.
Urgent portrait of child prostitution marred by cliché characters, awkward acting and predictable script
Sincere, didactic, sentimental, predictable account of how 12 year-old Maria (inexperienced, doe-eyed Fernanda Carvalho) is sold by her own destitute parents in Northern Brazil to be employed as a housemaid, instead ends up being forced to work as a prostitute under slave-like conditions in an indigent brothel in the Amazon, run by evil Saraiva (Antonio Calloni). Overcoming all odds, Maria manages to escape to Rio de Janeiro, where she hopes her life will change for better when she meets Vera (Darlene Glória, the unforgettable star of "Toda Nudez Será Castigada", unrecognizable after a series of unsuccessful face-lifts)...but will it? The theme is important and urgent: child prostitution exists in most Third World countries (well, I guess everywhere...), but in Northern Brazil it takes endemic proportions, as it's not unusual for destitute parents to sell their own daughters to brothels, in a region where virginity is still a valuable commodity, and men pay high prices to deflower virgin child prostitutes, not remotely à la "Pretty Baby" glamorization. The fact that documentaries on the subject are difficult to make due to legal issues (they're underage!) makes fictionalized films like these essential and director/writer Rudi Lagemann shows he did his research homework. Nevertheless, the film seldom clicks, due to the usual weak points in contemporary Brazilian fiction film-making: the loose/inefficient direction of actors, the predictability of plot development, the abuse of formulaic characters and unconvincing/flat dialog. If the film is ultimately frustrating, it's mainly due to cliché cardboard good vs. evil characters and the fact that we can outguess nearly every next sequence. The dialog seldom rings true, marred by the awkward acting of the young cast (with the exception of talented and more experienced Mary Sheyla), the mix of unlikely accents and the shameless scenery-chewing of the veterans (especially Calloni and Darlene Glória, while usually reliable Chico Díaz and Vera Holtz resort to ticks and tricks; Otávio Augusto is fine, as usual). The mix of professional and non-professional actors never lets the film impose its tone (it keeps teetering between melodrama and docu-realism). Visually, the film is also contradictory, as Lagermann indulges in carefully planned framings and complex camera movements that belie (and soften) the urgent, raw, ugly theme. I sincerely wish I could recommend this film heartily; it IS a labor of love, well-intentioned and deals with an important issue. But if you want to see a really great Brazilian film about child exploitation and prostitution (among other throbbing themes), try to find the brand new DVD release of "Iracema -- Uma Transa Amazônica". That one is a real punch in the stomach and a completely successful mix of cinéma- vérité, improvisation and fiction, still as urgent and shocking as it was 30 years ago, and which -- tragically -- hasn't dated at all.
The most moving film that I have ever seen.
I'm not much of an expert on acting or other movie details, but this movie just hit me deep. I don't think I'll ever forget it. One scene especially (I think that anybody who has seen the film will know of which one I am speaking) is imprinted on my brain. I also watched the similar movie Lilja 4-ever (as referred to by a previous commentator). It was also very moving, but not quite as straight to the point and brutal. If you are sensitive at all, either will bring tears to your eyes, but Anjos Do Sol (Angels of the Sun) may stay with you forever. This is very depressing subject matter, but I think, no, I HOPE that the film succeeds in bringing more attention to it. More people need to see this film!!!!!!
The Shameful Reality of Child Prostitution
In Northeastern of Brazil, the father of the twelve years old illiterate Maria (Fernanda Carvalho) sells his daughter to the middle man of a prostitution organization, Tadeu (Chico Dias), to be employed as a housemaid and have a better life. However, the girl is resold to the farmer Lourenço (Otávio Augusto) that deflowers her, and he gives the abused girl to his teenager son to have his first sexual experience. Then she is sent to a brothel in a gold field in Amazonas and explored his owner, the despicable Saraiva (Antonio Calloni). When Maria escapes to Rio de Janeiro expecting a better life, she is explored by the cáften Vera (Darlene Glória). "Anjos do Sol" exposes the sad and shameful reality of child prostitution in Brazil through the fate of the girl Maria. Last year I saw "Lilja 4-ever" that tells an identical story in the former Soviet Union; therefore this problem does exist in Third World countries. Director and writer Rudi Lagemann presents a great movie exposing the reality but never showing nudity or explicit sexual scenes. It is the debut of the promising Fernanda Carvalho, who has an excellent performance in the role of a scared child fighting for survival. Most of the prostitutes are amateurs, and it is impossible to recognize the famous Darlene Glória so different she is after many plastic surgeries. The bitter and hopeless end of the story is also very realistic. My vote is ten. Title (Brazil): "Anjos do Sol" ("Angels of the Sun")
A heartfelt and informative film regarding the horrors of child prostitution, complemented by a powerful score and emotional cinematography.
Anjos do Sol was one of those movies I was hesitant to watch -- another film on child prostitution, another Trade or Human Trafficking? I've seen enough of child exploitation films. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The plot was less trite than I had feared, the ending especially heartfelt and surprising as the audience perceives that Maria has absorbed her previous experiences negatively. (Duh. How can child prostitution be positive?) The ending gives a powerful message on how child prostitution severely affects the minds of its victims and urges people to become aware of its continuing affects. Although the plot is brilliant from some angles and not so much from others, the score and cinematography are what truly makes the movie a masterpiece. The music, sometimes repetitious, incites emotions. The cinematography enhances the story by allowing the viewers to interact with the characters. Two instances of beautiful cinematography must be mentioned: ---SPOILER ALERT--- 1] After Maria's first night at the club, the camera peeks around the corner of her doorway to reveal her crying in the bed. The camera moves at such a slow angle that the viewers feel as though they too are in the club, peeking around the doorway at something they should not see. 2] When Saraiva ties Inez to the jeep, the camera circles Inez's face from the profiles to the front. As the camera moves and Inez approaches imminent doom (Saraiva starts the jeep that will drag her), Inez's face transforms from a cool countenance to a wrinkled, despairing expression. Just as the camera stops, the jeep starts. ---END--- The acting was atrocious at times because many of the actresses were young and inexperienced, including the main actress Fernanda Carvalho, who had no previous acting experience. However, Carvalho's portrayal of Maria was so simple and natural that I felt her childish inexperience and honesty added reality to the film ... which is more that I can say for the antagonists, who were uninspiring and one-dimensional. Overall, the performances were so-so, but the emotional cinematography and score demands a viewing of the film.